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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Geographic Information > Southeast > News Release
News Release Information

26-262-ATL
Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

South Carolina Job Openings and Labor Turnover — December 2025

South Carolina had 113,000 job openings in December 2025, compared to 117,000 openings in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (See table 1.) Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that the job openings rate in South Carolina was 4.5 percent in December and 4.6 percent in the previous month. (See chart 1 and table 2.) The job openings rate nationally was 3.9 percent in December and 4.2 percent in November. (See table 3.) All data in this release are seasonally adjusted.

  Chart 1. Line chart of job openings as a percent of employment for the United States and South Carolina, December 2021 to December 2025, seasonally adjusted. Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data

The ratio of unemployed persons per job opening in South Carolina was 1.1 in December. Nationwide, 28 states and the District of Columbia had ratios in December that were lower than the national ratio of 1.1 unemployed persons per job opening; 13 states had ratios that were higher than the national ratio, and 9 states had ratios equal to the national measure. (See map 1.)

Map 1. Number of unemployed persons per job opening by state, December 2025, seasonally adjusted

(U.S. ratio = 1.1)


In December, South Carolina had 96,000 hires and 86,000 separations, compared to 89,000 hires and 94,000 separations in November. (See chart 2.) Over the 12 months ending in December, hires have averaged 97,000 per month and separations have averaged 87,000 per month. These averages include workers who may have been hired and separated more than once during the year.

  Chart 2. Line chart of hires and total separations in South Carolina, December 2021 to December 2025, seasonally adjusted (in thousands). Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data

Among the December separations in South Carolina, 54,000 were quits and 28,000 were layoffs and discharges, compared to 60,000 quits and 29,000 layoffs and discharges in November. (See chart 3.) Over the last 12 months, quits averaged 57,000 per month, ranging from 50,000 to 60,000. Layoffs and discharges have averaged 26,000 per month, ranging from 17,000 to 38,000.

  Chart 3. Line chart of quits and layoffs and discharges in South Carolina, December 2021 to December 2025, seasonally adjusted (in thousands). Accessible version is available in View Chart Data link below the chart.
View Chart Data
Upcoming Change to the JOLTS State Estimates

The national State Job Openings and Labor Turnover news release will move from a monthly news release to an annual news release. The first annual news release will be in July 2026. Going forward, monthly estimates for the prior calendar year will be published each year along with the annual news release. The annual news release will incorporate benchmark revisions to JOLTS national estimates, updated Current Employment Statistics (CES) employment estimates, and updated Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data.


Technical Note

This news release presents statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). The JOLTS program provides information on labor demand and turnover. The state estimates produced by JOLTS are model-based, incorporating JOLTS sample, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), and Current Employment Statistics (CES) estimates. For more information see the JOLTS State Estimates Methodology.

Job Openings. Job openings include all positions that are open on the last business day of the reference month. A job is open only if it meets all three of these conditions:

  • A specific position exists and there is work available for that position.
  • The job could start within 30 days.
  • The employer is actively recruiting workers from outside the establishment to fill the position.

The number of unemployed persons per job opening is a ratio of the level of unemployed persons and the level of job openings. The number of unemployed persons at the national level is an estimate from the Current Population Survey (CPS), while state-level unemployment estimates are modeled by the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program. A ratio of 1.0 means there is a job available for every unemployed person. Lower ratios signal tighter labor markets, where firms have more job openings than there are unemployed persons available to work. Higher ratios indicate there are more unemployed persons competing for each job opening.

Hires. Hires include all additions to the payroll during the entire reference month.

Separations. Separations include all separations from the payroll during the entire reference month and are reported by type of separation: quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations.

  • Quits include employees who left voluntarily, except for retirements or transfers to other locations.
  • Layoffs and discharges include involuntary separations initiated by the employer.
  • Other separations include retirements, transfers to other locations, separations due to employee disability, and deaths.

Levels and rates of other separations represent a small portion of total separations and are not published with the release of state estimates.

Complete definitions, including exclusions, and additional information about the State JOLTS data presented in this release are available in the State Job Openings and Labor Turnover Technical Note.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

Table 1. Job openings and labor turnover for South Carolina, seasonally adjusted (in thousands)
Estimate December 2024 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025(p) Change from November 2025 to December 2025(p)

Openings

 137 132 124 117 113 -4

Hires

 105 90 85 89 96 7

Total separations

 98 73 93 94 86 -8

Quits

 68 50 52 60 54 -6

Layoffs & discharges

 27 17 38 29 28 -1

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.

Table 2. Job openings and labor turnover rates for South Carolina, seasonally adjusted
Estimate December 2024 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025(p) Change from November 2025 to December 2025(p)

Openings(1)

 5.4 5.2 4.9 4.6 4.5 -0.1

Hires(2)

 4.4 3.7 3.5 3.7 4.0 0.3

Total separations(3)

 4.1 3.0 3.8 3.9 3.6 -0.3

Quits(3)

 2.9 2.1 2.1 2.5 2.2 -0.3

Layoffs & discharges(3)

 1.1 0.7 1.6 1.2 1.2 0.0

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.

Table 3. Job openings and labor turnover rates for the United States, seasonally adjusted
Estimate December 2024 September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025(p) Change from November 2025 to December 2025(p)

Openings(1)

 4.5 4.6 4.5 4.2 3.9 -0.3

Hires(2)

 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.3 0.1

Total separations(3)

 3.2 3.3 3.2 3.2 3.3 0.1

Quits(3)

 1.9 2.0 1.9 2.0 2.0 0.0

Layoffs & discharges(3)

 1.1 1.1 1.2 1.1 1.1 0.0

Footnotes:
(p) Preliminary.
(1) The job openings rate is computed by dividing the number of job openings by the sum of employment and job openings and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(2) The hires rate is computed by dividing the number of hires by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100.
(3) The separations rate is computed by dividing the number of separations by employment and multiplying that quotient by 100. The quits and layoffs and discharges rates are computed similarly.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026